


De Haan

by rachelvanbora



Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-07-09
Packaged: 2018-11-30 00:07:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11451903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rachelvanbora/pseuds/rachelvanbora
Summary: A SEP refresher in De Haan. And a dinner afterwards.





	De Haan

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sircarolyn](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Sircarolyn).



PROLOGUE  
( _Carolyn´s home, the kitchen, morning_ )  
Carolyn ( _on the phone with Herc_ ): Nothing special, bit of seaside fun.  
Herc: Well, if there´s anyone who could make a client pay for one´s holidays, it´s you.  
Carolyn: That´s not quite how it went. But you could call it an investment.  
Herc: Sounds thrilling. Where?  
Carolyn: Belgium coast.  
Herc: Don´t forget your wetsuit. ( _long pause. Carolyn is busy making her tea_ )  
Herc: Are you still there?  
Carolyn: Hm. That´s quite a disturbing kink you´ve just revealed.  
Herc: What? I meant for the cold. The water´s bound to be freezing. Anyway, you forgot to tell me much you loved the _Abduction_ yesterday.  
Carolyn: Yes. That man really didn´t know about restraint, did he?  
Herc: Mozart? Of course he did. Passion tamed by discipline. Don´t tell me you´re like Joseph II, the emperor.  
Carolyn: Did he too object to wearing wetsuits in perfectly reasonable weather?  
Herc: No, he said the _Abduction from the Serail_ was too beautiful for his ears and had too many notes.  
Carolyn: There you have it.  
Herc: I´m tempted to cancel our dinner tonight.  
Carolyn: I´m tempted to ban you from my kitchen forever. Sensible recipies this time, please. See you at eight. 

ACT I  
( _in the flight deck_ )  
Douglas: Will you ever tell us why we had to fly to Oostende, of all places?  
Carolyn: So that we could get to the lovely sea resort of De Haan.  
Martin: What´s in De Haan?  
Carolyn: Mussels. Fries. And your favourite Safety and Emergency Procedures refresher.  
Arhur: Brilliant!  
Douglas: Here? In Belgium?  
Carolyn: Yes. You wouldn´t believe how much cheaper it is.  
Martin: Well, I guess it makes sense to practice emerency landings at sea, not in a swimming pool. It´s just that...  
Carolyn: ...yes?  
Martin: I didn´t bring my earplugs.  
Carolyn: Good. You´ll be able to hear us then.  
Martin: Carolyn, you know about my inner ear problem...  
Carolyn: Don´t worry, Martin, there will be no fainting this time. Arthur´s been spiking your coffee with homeopatics since yesterday.  
Martin: Right. I thought it was on the sweet side.  
Arthur: Mum told me not to skimp on you.  
Martin: Come again?  
Arthur: I know I should have recorded that sentence.  
Douglas: Sorry to interrupt this apothecary symposium, but there is a point that needs to be clarified. Do you, Carolyn, also think that practicing emergency landings at sea makes sense? I ´ve heard a lot of SEP-related crap, but this one really takes the bis-  
Carolyn: -don´t panic, Douglas. Summer´s coming, the water will have at least 16 degrees, which might well be 10 more than in that Ipswich pool, besides, you´ll have much more buoyancy in salt water. It will be –  
Arthur: – brilliant!

 

( _Carolyn, Douglas and Martin in a dinghy. The sea is choppy._ )  
Carolyn: Martin, do stop fidgeting.  
Martin: I´m trying to localise a sea sickness bag.  
Douglas: I´d tell you to use your hat, but it seems the wind just blew it off.  
Martin: What?  
Carolyn: There it is, it landed right on the dummy we´re supposed to rescue.  
Martin: Let me! 

( _De Haan examination centre_ )  
Examination centre director: Mrs. Knapp-Shappey, I must confer my congratulations. Not only you have all passed, but your captain scored 120 percent on the knowledge test. And I have never seen anyone rescue the test dummy with such speed and dedication.  
Carolyn (sotto voce): We were so lucky the hat landed there.  
Douglas (sotto voce): Lucky? Who do you think threw it in that direction? 

 

EPILOGUE  
( _Carolyn´s home, the kitchen, evening_ )  
Carolyn: Long story short, nausea notwithstanding, Martin broke the wet uniform swim speed record.  
Herc: He jumped in for the hat?  
Carolyn: Herc, that boy is positively Pavlovian. And Douglas has him completely house-trained.  
Herc: Good for Douglas.  
Carolyn: Why don´t you like him?  
Herc: He´s conscientious, courteous to a fault and has comprehensive aviation knowledge. What´s there not to like?  
Carolyn: I meant Douglas.  
Herc: Ah.  
Carolyn: Ah, indeed.  
Herc: I´ve known Douglas for a long time.  
Carolyn: So have I.  
Herc: Not the safest person to have on team, the consensus went. Especially on such a small team. He´s ...too original. Too ...creative.  
Carolyn: And too many notes?  
Herc: I am glad you remember my Mozart story.  
Carolyn: I might vaguely remember all of your stories.  
Herc: Good. Than there´s hope for you.  
Carolyn: Hope? Herc, there´s a fridge in this kitchen, full of perfectly edible protein, and yet here I am, helping you to prepare a vegetarian dinner. Surely this must exceed you wildest dreams?  
Herc: I have a very vivid imagination.  
Carolyn: Don´t remind me. Sesame and chocolate sauce?  
Herc: Arthur loved it.  
Carolyn: Arthur has a very big heart.  
Herc: So have I. It´s just that it lately went completely monothematic.  
Carolyn: We´ll be eating nothing but sesame?  
Herc: If you hadn´t blacklisted so many words, this conversation could make much more sense.  
Carolyn: I admitted I remember your stories, I volunteered for your food project and I even let you fret over me. How much more do you want to mouth it?  
Herc: As much as you let me, my Wonder Woman.  
Carolyn: Hm. Time to expand that black list.


End file.
